The perpetrator opened fire on the sidelines of a Chinese New Year celebration in a dance hall. He managed to escape. At least ten other people were injured.
Fear and disbelief reign after deadly shootings at a Chinese New Year celebration in the US state of California: at a dance hall in Monterey Park, an eastern suburb of the Pacific metropolis of Los Angeles, a gunman opened fire on Saturday night (local time), at least ten people were killed and at least ten others were injured.
At least one injured person was in critical condition. Material was published on social networks showing injured people on stretchers being treated by emergency services and taken to hospitals.
The New Year celebrations in the Asian community, which were supposed to last until Sunday, have been cancelled. The perpetrator has yet to be captured, Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said at a press conference on Sunday morning (local time). The motive for the crime is not clear. “We will investigate in all directions to determine whether or not this is a hate crime,” Meyer said. It is still too early to answer this question.
Visitors left the restaurant screaming
The perpetrator opened fire on Saturday night at 22:22 (local time). “When officers arrived at the scene, they saw several people, visitors to the restaurant, coming out of the restaurant screaming,” Meyer said. The assailant fled.
The owner of a restaurant near the crime scene told the Los Angeles Times that three people rushed into his restaurant and asked him to lock the door. They said the shooter carried enough ammo to continue reloading. According to reports, the police cordoned off an area around the nightclub. Police are also investigating whether there is a link to another firearms incident in the nearby town of Alhambra.
Monterey Park has a population of approximately 60,000, two-thirds of whom are of Asian descent, according to the most recent census. For Chinese New Year, the roads will be closed to traffic because of the festivities. Thousands of people from all over Southern California regularly attend the festival.
USA and the problem of gun violence
The US has long struggled with massive levels of gun violence. Fatal attacks of this magnitude are sadly normal in the United States. The non-governmental organization Gun Violence Archive has recorded 33 gun attacks with four or more victims since the beginning of the year. Firearms are generally readily available in the United States.
The crime in Monterey Park is reminiscent of the deadly attack on an Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb last July. At that moment, a gunman opened fire on the celebrating crowd, killing seven people. In November, a man shot and killed five people at a nightclub frequented by gay, lesbian and trans communities in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Last May, an 18-year-old gunman massacred a Texas elementary school, killing 19 children and two teachers. The killing reignited talk of stricter gun laws.
(APA/dpa)